I am very interested in obtaining a peacock eel. I work with aquariums for a living and the eels we have are in a tank at work with barbs. They are labeled as "Semi aggressive". However, the eels are lazy at best. They pretty much act as if they are the only ones in the tank as they take no notice of the other fish. The eels are amazing at cleaning the gravel as they are constantly hiding in it forcing the debris into the filtration system. I can tell you beyond a doubt that the eel tank is the easiest to clean.
Anyways, my question is a question of compatibility between the eel and community fish.
I would be adding him into a large aquarium that has the following species:
3 tetra von rios
1 male betta
5 neon tetras
2 black neons
2 zebra danios
3 glass fish
2 fancy guppies.
yes theres room for the eels adult size. I am mainly concerned with how his behavior will be towards the smaller docile community fish. I have asked many colleagues at work and like me, they feel this eel is particularly laid back and probably will not feed on the other fish...however none of us have ever tried a peacock eel with small tropical community so i was hoping someone had some experience with this. Thank you so much

Spiney eels behave very differently in a tank in which they feel secure than in one that does not provide them the cover they like. I have seen very few heavily planted tanks in stores. Spiney eels in a tank with a thicket or two of leafy stem plants will spend much more time hanging out in the plants waiting for delectable morsels such as neon tetras to swim by than they will buried in the substrate. In fact, digging themselves in is a sign of stress. I cannot recall which forum I was reading this on, but there is a fellow who keeps several and swears by it. I am convinced.

Frankly, I think the betta will be OK, and the glass fish probably. The Danios might be just too fast. Beyond that, you'll have some restocking to do. I'd make sure that any fish I had in with a spiny eel was over 2", and over 3" if it were torpedo shaped.

That said, if you did this anyway, after your schooling fish evaporate, you might consider replacing them with Congo Tetras or Giant Danios or SAEs or Roseline sharks.

Also, sooner or later your betta is going to have a go at your guppies.